Jenny
by EBear2015
Summary: The team picked up a new member about a year ago. When they found Jenny, she had been nearly beaten to death. Now, she's a valued member of the team and they've just selected another mark to con. Unfortunately, Jenny has a secret that she's kept from the team. The team's new mark has spent the last few years trying to kill her and this con has made her into an easy target.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter 1_

"Hey, do you guys know if Jenny will actually show up?" asked Eliot.

"Are you kidding?" asked Sophie. "Do you know how many hours it took me just to get her into her dress? The only reason she finally put it on was because she knew you would be here." Sophie threw her arms up in the air and gave an exasperated sigh. "That girl is afraid to wear a dress and I can't get her to tell me why!"

"So, how good of a distraction will she be?" asked Hardison.

"An amazing one," said Sophie, her voice confident.

"You guys know I can hear you, right?" asked Jenny. They were silent. "I'm parking right now. If I'm not at the top of the stairs in 5 minutes, you're on your own."

"Get your butt in here Jenny," said Nate. "You can leave as soon as the job is done."

"If I don't' show, it won't be because I walked away Nate," she replied nervously. "If I don't show, it will be because I'm dead."

"What?!" asked Nate.

"If I'm still alive when we're done tonight," said Jenny. "I promise, I'll tell you everything."

"Jenny, what in blazes—?" began Eliot.

"Not now, Eliot," she snapped, cutting him off. "Nate, where are you?"

"Waiting for you on the stairs," he replied.

"Jenny—" began Eliot.

"I said not now, Eliot!" she hissed.

Eliot froze upon hearing the fear and anger in her voice. He'd noticed Jenny being quieter than normal—almost reverting back to the speechless girl they'd found beaten and bloodied in a motel room—since they had agreed to take this job, but he'd just thought it was because she was being forced to wear a dress. Now, that was obviously not the reason, and he realized that whatever the real reason was, she was serious. It could kill her.

"Change of plans Nate," he said, handing his champagne to a waitress. " _I'm_ meeting Jenny on the stairs."

"No Eliot," said Jenny. "Nate, before you even look at me, you need to know that associating with me tonight could get you killed too."

"I'm not gonna die? Am I?" asked Hardison.

"You're a geeky tech-man in a van, Hardison. You don't even exist," replied Jenny.

"Good to know," said Hardison, checking the cameras again. "Good to know."

"Jenny, how long as someone been trying to kill you?" asked Nate.

Jenny was silent for a minute and then she sighed. "A while," she answered. Though Nate could tell from the sound of her voice that it had been a lot longer than that.

" _How long?_ " asked Eliot, as he and Nate switched places.

"A while," repeated Jenny. "Look up."

Eliot looked up and his jaw dropped. Jenny's dress was made of silk and it was red; it was also extremely backless.

"Shut it, Eliot," said Hardison. "I can see your jaw dropping and I don't even have the cameras zoomed in."

"Oh, like yours isn't hitting your keyboard," Eliot retorted.

"She's my sister man!" said Hardison.

"Foster sister," piped Sophie. "and she disappeared when you were ten."

"I grew up with her as my sister guys. Don't you dare thing about her that way Eliot or I'll kill you as soon as this job is done."

"It's a little late for that Hardison," said Nate, stifling a chuckle. "He's been looking at her that way since the first night we found her and she woke up screaming."

"All of you shut up!" snapped Jenny. "We have a job to do and not focusing will likely get us all killed. So, let's get this over with."

"Jenny, bump into Eliot," instructed Nate. "Eliot, act like it's ok, then ask her name and offer her your arm."

"I know how to act like a gentleman, Nate," said Eliot.

Skillfully faking a stumble, Jenny flopped right into Eliot's open arms.

Are you alright Ma'am?" asked Eliot, smiling down at her.

"Yes, thanks to you sir," she replied, as he helped her steady herself.

"My name's Gideon," said Eliot, offering her his arm. "May I be your escort this evening?"

"On one condition," Jenny replied, looking straight into his eyes and taking both of his hands in hers. "You have to promise never to fall in love with me."

The condition shocked Eliot and while he nodded and promised, he knew new he was lying through his teeth. The little red-head beside him could occasionally drive him to the brink of insanity, but Nate had been right… he already cared about Jenny more than he was willing to admit.

As they descended the stairs, the stares of nearly every man in the room turned toward Jenny. When they reached the bottom of the first flight of stairs, they started their con.

The lights blacked out, Eliot stepped back and Jenny quickly slipped her shoes off. Pulling bells onto her ankles, she unhooked her tambourine from her hip and posed, just as the spotlight flashed to reveal her in a shadow of fog that caressed the steps above and beneath her.

Then the music started and in the darkness, Jenny knew that the jaw of every man in the room had probably hit the floor… with the exception of one. Somewhere, in the sea of blackened faces, was the one person she feared most—and he wanted her dead.

As she finished her dance, applause thundered in the cavernous room and she heard Nate's voice whisper urgently: "Get out! Get out now!"

"What's going on Nate," she heard Sophie ask, it was obvious that she'd met up with him and they were leaving together.

"I don't know how you know him, Jenny," he replied. "but our mark recognized you. We've been compromised. Get out as quickly as you can."

Disappearing from the spotlight, Jenny dashed back up the stairs only to run straight into a man wielding a gun. He grabbed her by the arms, but before he could get a solid grip, Jenny managed to knee him in the groin, causing him to let go of her arms and collapsed to the ground. "Nope, nope, nope," she whispered to herself as she sprinted down the hallway. "This can't be happening… this can't be happening." Turning back to look behind her, she slammed right into Eliot. She shrieked, leaping nearly a foot backwards before she realized who she'd run into. Before either of them could say anything, they heard voices from around the corner.

"That way! She went that way!"

"Quick, you imbeciles! I will _not_ lose her again!"

Grabbing Eliot by his jacket, Jenny pulled him into a doorway, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed him. He tried to pull away, but when Jenny reached inside his jacket and put her hand on his handgun, he picked her up and hid her the best he could in the corner. She would never admit it, but she was so scared that he could feel her entire body shaking. If it weren't for his arms around her, he was nearly certain that she would shatter into a thousand pieces.

He heard two of the men run past, not even bothering to slow down. The third man stopped behind them for a moment or two. Eliot all but froze, realizing that Jenny was the only person in the building with bells around her ankles. If he was even semi-observant, the man would notice both Jenny's bare feet and the bells.

"Did you see a young woman run by?" the man asked. "She had red hair and—"

"No," said Eliot.

"You're sure?" the man asked.

"Does it look like I would have seen anyone run by?" asked Eliot, doing his best to sound irritated, rather than anxious.

The man chuckled. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll find her." After taking a couple of steps, he stopped again. "Have fun," he said, before sprinting after the other men.

As soon as he was gone, Jenny laid her head on Eliot's shoulder and buried her face in his neck.

"Jenny! Eliot! Where are you?" asked Nate, nearly causing Eliot to drop Jenny.

"Geeze Nate!" snapped Eliot, setting Jenny lightly on her feet.

"Where are you?" asked Nate.

"We're on our way!" said Eliot, pulling Jenny toward the elevator at the end of the hall.

"What's taking you guys so long?" asked Parker, piping up for the first time that evening.

"Later Parker," said Nate.

"Alec?" asked Jenny, as she and Eliot stepped into the elevator.

"Here sis," he replied.

"I need you to look in my bag and fi—"

"Whoa, hold up," said Hardison. "You want me to look in your bag? Seriously? I mean, this better not—"

"Alec!" she interrupted.

"Sorry," he replied. "You were saying?"

"Look in my bag, inside pocket, the one with the zipper. I need you to have the syringe ready when I get to the van," she said, as the elevator came to a stop.

"The what?" asked Hardison.

"Why do you have a syringe in your purse?" asked Nate.

"Just have it ready," said Jenny, grabbing Eliot's arm.

"Why?" asked Nate.

"If you don't," said Jenny, collapsing into Eliot's arms. "I'm could die."

Eliot barely managed to catch Jenny before she hit the floor. "Shit," he gasped.  
"What's in it?" Eliot heard Sophie asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" asked Hardison.

Lifting Jenny up into his arms, Eliot sprinted to the van. As he slammed his foot into the back door, Eliot's mind flashed back to the first time he'd met Jenny. They'd found her beaten and bloody in a motel room. Hardison had grown up with her as a sister for eight years with his foster mom, when she vanished. The police had never found her body, but after months of searching, they declared her dead. She'd nearly died the first couple of days after they'd found her. Between her injuries and withdrawal from the drugs that she'd been dosed with, Eliot had been surprised that she had lived. "Open the door Hardison," he yelled, kicking at the door again, just as it opened. Looking up, he stepped back as the man who had stopped Jenny on the stairs climbed out. As quickly as he could turn without dropping Jenny, Eliot turned to run.

"Not so fast," said the man who had stopped to question Eliot in the hallway, stepping from around the side of the van. One more step and I'll shoot her right out of your arms."

"Oh shit," said Hardison's voice in Eliot's ear.

"Oh shit's right," hissed Eliot. "Where the hell are you guys?"

"We're the _other_ black van, five cars down," said Hardison.

"Hang on Eliot," said Nate. "I'm working on a plan, we'll get you guys out."

"Ah, ah, ah," said the man, motioning to Eliot's ear. "Not another word. Take out that earpiece and throw it on the ground."

When Eliot hesitated, the man aimed his gun. "Don't make me repeat myself," he sneered. Laying Jenny gently on the ground, Eliot did as he was told. "Her earpiece too," the man ordered. "and don't tell me she doesn't have one."

"I'll take it out," said Eliot. "but she needs medicine. If she doesn't get it, she'll be dead in a matter of minutes and—"

"We know," said another man, stepping out from the other side of the van. "as soon as your earpieces are taken care of, she'll get it."

Taking the earpiece out of Jenny's ear, Eliot threw it down on the ground next to his.

"Very good," said the man, taking a syringe from the pocket of his suit jacket. "Step away from her please."

"Not gonna happen," said Eliot.

"You're forgetting who has the gun here," said the second man.

"Speaking of guns," said the man with the syringe. "How about removing yours?"

"I don't like guns," said Eliot. "Why—"

"You just really want her to die, don't you?" asked the man.

"Not today," mumbled Eliot. Slowly reaching behind himself to grab his gun, he brought it out and kicked it away. As he stood and took a couple steps back, he instantly regretted it. Two men came at him from behind and aimed their guns at him.

"One step forward and both of you will be dead in a matter of seconds," said the man with his gun aimed at Jenny.

Furious with himself and furious with their friends, Eliot watched in horror as the man plunged the syringe into Jenny's neck and sent its contents racing through her bloodstream. After what seemed like an eternity later, Jenny's breathing began to normalize and her eyes fluttered open.

"Eliot?!" she gasped, upon seeing the strange man kneeling above her.

"I'm right here," Eliot replied, looking to the man with the gun before kneeling down and scooping her into his arms. Jenny's breathing was still a little off and she was shaking, but she was alive and to Eliot, that was everything. It might have been their kiss in the hallway, Jenny collapsing in the elevator, the helpless feeling he had that was sending shivers down his spine, or any other number of things, but it was at that moment that Eliot realized just how much Jenny meant to him.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Two Days Earlier_

Eliot snuck across the kitchen and grabbed Jenny around the waist. She squealed and her arm flew back, elbowing Eliot in the chest.

"Umph!" he groaned.

Jenny turned around and quickly swung, her right hook clobbering Eliot squarely in the jaw. As he stumbled backward and leaned against the opposite counter, Jenny gasped.

"Oh my gosh, Eliot!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't mean to—"

Eliot put up a hand and nodded, a smile spreading across his face despite the cut on his lip. "Since when can you punch like that?" he asked, rubbing his jaw.

"I have a good teacher," she replied shyly.

"Well it can't be me," said Eliot. "You have yet to hit me like that in practice."

Jenny looked down at the floor. "Just because I don't, doesn't mean I can't," she replied.

Eliot chuckled. "It's always the quiet ones…" then he paused. "Why haven't you hit me like that before?"

"I trust you," Jenny replied. "I don't want to hurt you."

Eliot sighed. "Jenny," he said. "You're not going to hurt me."

"Then why did you fall back against the counter and rub your jaw? You didn't get that bloody lip by accident. I obviously did something…" she paused for a second, took Eliot's face in her hands and asked: "Are you _sure_ you're alright?"

Eliot chuckled, placed his hand over hers and looked her straight in the eyes. "I fight men more than twice your size, with life times of training, at least once a week."

Jenny giggled. "Right," she replied. "Stupid question."


End file.
